


I Love You, Too

by CruelKittenThesis



Category: Devilman
Genre: Love Confessions, M/M, Underage Drinking, shameless fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-15 22:05:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13040385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CruelKittenThesis/pseuds/CruelKittenThesis
Summary: After a night of demon hunting and too much alcohol,  Ryo finally confesses his feelings to Akira. Written for shatteredcrystalwings, and posted with permission.





	I Love You, Too

His head hurt, his eyes were stinging, and his throat burned, but still, Ryo took another drink. The cheap beer tasted like shit, somehow both watery and overly bitter. He groaned, shutting his eyes, “Fucking hell.” He tossed the empty bottle down, and it hit the floor of the car with a disappointing sounding clank. 

“You okay, Ryo?” Akira turned to him face, his eyes widened in concern. When they first met, Akria's innocent eyes reminded him of a puppy, curious and trusting, now they were the eyes of a wolf, a violent hunter, and, either way, they were beautiful. Everything about Akira was beautiful. He was beautiful when he was smiling as he laughed at some cheesy joke, and he was beautiful when he was snarling, covered in hot sweat and grime, devil hands dripping with black-red blood. 

“Headache,” Ryo grumbled, leaning over, resting his head on Akira's shoulder, his feathery, pale blond hair looking nearly white in the soft glow of the moonlight that spilled into the car. 

Akira sighed, “That's because you've been drinking.” His voice had been soft, affectionate, even though he really did wish Ryo would take better care of himself. He gently brushed a few strands of hair out of Ryo's eyes. 

Ryo grumbled something unintelligible in response, and had his face not already been flush from alcohol, he would have blushed. 

“I guess we're sleeping out here tonight?” Akira yawned. It was too late at night for them to easily find their way out of the woods, and they were both exhausted from demon hunting. He stretched his legs back, and leaned over, so that he was now laying down across the backseat.

Ryo, who had still been leaning on Akira, tumbled down with a yell, hitting the car floor, “What the hell is wrong with you?” 

Akira, laughed, sleepy and beautiful, “Sorry!” He lazily offered a hand to Ryo, “I kinda forgot you were there.”

Ryo scoffed, but accepted the hand, and crawled back onto the seat, letting Akira wrap an arm sleepily around him. He felt sick, the piss-tasting beer swirled in his gut, and his body cried out in anger. He groaned in pain, and burrowed his face into Akira's chest, like a cat reluctantly admitting he wants attention, feeling too tired and sick to be embarrassed about it. 

“Hey, Akira?” Ryo looked up his friend, his weary, bloodshot eyes full of love. His head felt like a broken TV playing static, and he desperately flipped between blurred thoughts, trying to find the words he needed to say, “I need to,” he paused, struggling, “Tell you something.”

“Eh? It's too late right now,” Akira looked at him with half open eyes, “You can tell me in the morning.”

“It's important,” Ryo grumbled, his voice muffled from Akir's chest. 

“It can wait until morning,“ Akira just patted his head absentmindedly, drifting off into his own dreams. “You should drink less,” he mumbled, “And smoke less, too.” He yawned, closing his eyes, “It's bad for you.”

Ryo didn't bother to respond, the gentle touches only made his body ache more, hungry for love, like an abandoned pet getting fed after so long. Akira's sleeping heart thumped against his head, tempting his exhausted and hurting body with the promise of rest. After an unknown amount of time, that felt like an eternity, he finally drifted off into a sleep full of nightmares and painful memories. The nightmares were almost an annoyance, he never slept without them, and he never fully remembered them when he woke up, like some terrible horror movie watched at three am, five years ago. 

The morning came, cruel sunlight shone into the dirty, humid car. Akira woke first, groaning, his arms and legs sore. Hot and uncomfortable, he squirmed, jostling Ryo, who whimpered, long lashes fluttering slowly, as he struggled to open his eyes. The two of them managed to untangle themselves, and opened the car up, nearly falling as they stumbled into the outdoors, in a manner that would make newborn fawns look graceful. 

As soon as they were out of the car, Ryo felt his stomach lurch. He moaned in pain, as his body rebelled against him, and his legs bent forward, “Shit!” Vomit and bile, so acidic and hot it burned his throat, violently forced itself out. He gagged, unable to stop the painful flow of stinging liquid, that splashed, shamefully, onto his legs and shoes.

“Jesus!” Akira ran forward, and placed a hand on his friend's back, feeling his body tremble through his jacket. He stroked him gently, trying to ease the obvious pain his friend was experiencing. “Are you okay?”

Ryo was unable to answer him at first, heaving even after his stomach calmed, but, eventually, he stood and coughed, “Does it look like I'm okay?”

“You look okay enough to talk back,” Akira gave him a slight smile, looking relieved. 

Ryo blushed, looking both embarrassed and ashamed. The sun shone through the trees around them, a soft warmth making the leaves sparkle like green stars. It would be a beautiful sight, had he not been throwing up. “Hey,” He mumbled, his mouth dry and his head burning. It was as if the act of throwing up had pushed his feelings into his throat, where they hung, desperately, wanting and needing to be said. Or maybe he was still somewhat drunk and emotional, but regardless, Ryo spoke, “I have something I really need to tell you.”

Arkia's looked at him with concern, his honest brown eyes always showing his emotions, and Ryo looked down, unable to meet his eyes, anywhere but at the rejection that he was sure was going to come, even the puddle of disgusting vomit, that sickly yellow-brown mess, seemed a safer and more comforting option. 

“I love you, Akira,” The words came out as soft as a whisper, but so sharp and clear, they seemed to cut his tongue as he spoke them. 

Ryo still wouldn't meet Akira's gaze, as the other teen spoke, his voice clearly confused, “I mean, we've been best friends forever, but you really shouldn't joke about that.”

Ryo felt Akira's hand gently press down on his head, which he harshly slapped away, “I'm not fucking joking, asshole.” He felt his breath hitch, his both his throat and heart burning, “I fucking love you! I've been in love with you since we've met! Hell, maybe even before we met, because I can't remember ever not loving you! So, don't you dare patronize me! Don't you fucking dare act like my feelings are a goddamn joke! Fuck you!” Too sick and upset to hold back, he began to cry, painful, hurt, tears, the tears of the chukar partridge, the bird of intense love, of requited love. The tears of the bird who gazes at the moon constantly, always trying to reach it, always loving it, no matter the pain and suffering that love brings. Because even now, he loved Akira. He loved Akira like the chukar loves the moon. He loved Akira more than anything in the world. He loved Akira more than he hated himself, and sometimes, when he was with Akira, he could forget how much he hated himself. He loved Akira, even with his heart breaking, feeling hurt and patronized. 

“You,” Akira audibly swallowed, “You're serious?”

“No, I'm lying and these tears are fake,” Ryo snarled, still unable to meet his friend's gaze.

Akira placed a hand on Ryo's cheek, and this time, Ryo accepted it. Yesterday, this hand had been a deadly claw, tearing violently through demon flesh, like ribbons of red paper, but today, it was just a normal human hand, soft, and slightly calloused. 

Ryo lifted his head to meet Akira's gaze, his own eyes, like a blue sky streaked with blood, and Akira's soft, full of concern, like melted chocolate. Akira let his hand drop, before quickly pulling Ryo into a tight embrace, his arms clutching him like he was terrified he might break into pieces, but also like he was afraid that, if he let go, Ryo would melt away. “I'm so sorry, Ryo,” he stroked his back, “I think. I think in a way, I kinda always knew? But I,” he paused, “I didn't want to admit it, because, you've always been my best friend, and I didn't want that to change.” They both knew that. Friendship was easy, love was not. “Honestly, Ryo, I don't think I can say you're just a friend to me, either, and if you really feel like this about me, I think I owe it to you to try.”

“Try?” Ryo raised an eyebrow.

“Um, like, try dating? We could go on a date to somewhere fun, like the aquarium?” Akira's voice was awkward, yet, there was a edge of hopefulness to his words. 

Ryo, for the first time, in a long time, for longer than he could remember, felt genuinely happy, and smiled, “I would love to go on an aquarium date with you, Akira.” He paused, “I really love you.”

And Akira answered him with an awkward laugh, “I think I love you, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> As always, I can be reached on tumblr at Sakurazuka-Subaru, and on Twitter at Lilithkitty, if you ever want to reach out and sob over these dumb boys with me.


End file.
